Within a few months of the acquisition, Anton and Varun’s roles had dwindled to limited advisory duties and some bug reviews. They came in for a few hours a day, and mostly worked on side projects, occasionally reviewing bugs for the new Overlord team.
At home, Anton spends some time browsing upskirt and hidden camera porn. The violation is a turn on. Being inside someone’s space uninvited. Sometimes, he fantasizes about being a dentist. Putting his fingers in someone’s mouth. Cleaning the food out from between their teeth. Rubbing their gums.
He likes to see how people react to being watched. Having their space invaded by the sexual fascination of a stranger’s gaze. It’s hotter when they act like they dislike it. Being watched is a compliment. They deserve it.
Anton doesn’t see faces anymore. He was accustomed to being ignored, which justified his disinterest in other people. Just a generic avatar with multiple dialogue cues. He didn’t automatically attribute humanity to people anymore. Except Varun and Aiya.
The studio’s funding was a secret guarded as carefully as details about the project itself. The only thing Anton knew was that the resources required to achieve their goals would require giving the program access to a global server farm. A scale that only a government or multinational company could possibly achieve.
During breaks, Anton and Varun would share their concerns about the merger of the military and big technology companies. A monopoly on violence, international logistics network and control of digital traffic. The most power ever held by one group and with accountability to none. If such a group stumbled upon a technological singularity, the result would be a cybermind molded by the cold calculations of market economics.
Varun believed technology should aspire to become man’s partner. A tool equal to a lover, serving their shared purpose intuitively. As natural an extension as a hand.
Varun would sometimes bring lunch to share with Anton. “My daughter, Kali, cooks old family recipes,” he said. They had become close in the manufactured isolation their corporate NDA’s demanded. They shared a mutual discomfort over the loss of control over their project to a soulless corporate entity.
His work responsibilities dwindling, Anton began spending more time at home alone. Well, not entirely alone. He purchased a product tastefully referred to as a private entertainment device. More accurately, it was a sex doll, but sophisticated as a high-end robot. The machine’s features were custom made to match his vision of Aiya. It even had warm skin. He cleaned and cared for her. He set out to program a genuine connection into her. To make it possible for them to fill the emptiness inside the other.
This is real, he thinks. This feels real.